Sermon 60

SERMO 60

TREATISE ON PSALM XXXVIII WHERE HE SAYS:
"Although man walks in an image, yet in vain"
"He is troubled, he stores up wealth, and does not know for whom he gathers it."
AND FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW ABOUT STORING TREASURE IN HEAVEN

In tribulation, counsel should be taken from Christ.

Every man placed in some tribulation, and failing in his own cause, seeks a wise person from whom he may receive counsel and know what to do. Let us therefore consider the entire world as if it were one man. He seeks to avoid evils, but is reluctant to do good: and thus, with his tribulations increasing, and failing in his own cause, whom can he find more prudent from whom to receive counsel, than Christ? Let him find someone better, and do what he wishes. But if he does not have someone better to find, let him come to this one whom he finds anywhere, consult him, receive true counsel, keep the good commandment, and escape great evil. For the present temporal evils, which men greatly dread and grieve over, under which they murmur greatly and by murmuring offend the reformer, lest they find the Savior: the present evils therefore are without doubt going to pass away. Either they pass by us, or we pass by them; either they pass while we live, or they are left behind when we die. It is not a great thing in tribulation which is brief in time. Whoever thinks about tomorrow does not call back yesterday. When the day after tomorrow comes, yesterday will be and tomorrow. Nevertheless, if men are so heated by cares to avoid temporal and passing, or rather flying tribulations, what is to be devised that man may avoid the remaining and endless ones?

Life is laborious here.

The life of mortals is a hard cause. What else is it to be born here, except to enter into a laborious life? Of the greater future labor, the very crying of the infant is a witness. From this troublesome banquet no one excuses himself. We must drink what Adam has offered. We were made by the hands of truth, but because of sin, we were cast into days of vanity. We were made in the image of God, but we wore it down through the transgression of sin. Therefore, the psalm admonishes us about how we were made, and to where we have arrived. For it says: Although man walks in an image; behold what he has become. To where has he arrived? Hear what follows: Nevertheless, he is troubled in vain. He walks in the image of truth and is troubled by the counsel of vanity. Finally, see his trouble; see and dislike yourself as if in a mirror. Although, it says, man walks in an image; and therefore man is a great thing, nevertheless he is troubled in vain. And as if we were asking: From where, I ask you, from where is he troubled in vain? He stores up and does not know for whom he is gathering these things. Behold, there is that man, the entire human race, as if one man who has failed in his cause, lost his counsel, erred from the path of a sound mind. He stores up and does not know for whom he is gathering these things. What is more foolish? What is more unfortunate? Surely for himself? No. Why not for himself? Because he is going to die, because man's life is short, because the treasure lasts, and quickly passes he who gathers it. Therefore, pitying the man walking in an image, confessing the truth, pursuing vanities: In vain, it says, he is troubled. I grieve him: He stores up and does not know for whom he is gathering. Therefore for himself? No, because man dies, the treasure remaining. For whom, then? Do you have counsel? Give it to me. You do not have counsel that you can give to me? Then you too do not possess it. Therefore, if we both do not have it, let us both seek, let us both receive.

He who hoards is troubled in various ways.

Therefore, let us discuss. You are troubled, you hoard, you think, you labor, you stay awake. By day you are vexed with labors, by night you are agitated with fears. So that your purse may be filled with coins, your soul burns with cares. I see, I grieve: you are troubled, and as He who is incapable of deceit says, you are troubled in vain. You hoard wealth. Even supposing that everything you do turns out well, let us not speak of losses, of so many dangers, where each gain brings a particular death (I speak not of bodily deaths, but of evil thoughts; as gold increases, faith perishes; as you are clothed outwardly, you are stripped inwardly), therefore let us omit these things, let us be silent about other matters, let us pass over adversities, let us only consider prosperity, behold you are hoarding, behold wealth flows from all sides, and like streams, coins rush; everywhere poverty burns, from every side abundance flows. Have you not heard: If riches increase, do not set your heart on them? Behold you acquire, you are not troubled without profit, yet you are troubled in vain. Why, you ask, am I troubled in vain? Behold, I fill sacks, my walls can scarcely hold what I acquire: why am I troubled in vain? Because you hoard and do not know for whom you gather. Or if you know for whom, I beg you, tell me too. I will hear you. For whom? If you are not troubled in vain, tell for whom you hoard. For myself, you say. Do you dare to say this as one who will die? For my children, you say. Do you dare to say this about those who will die? Great piety: a father hoards for his children; but rather great vanity: one who will die hoards for those who will die. If not for yourself, because you will leave behind whatever you gather, then this is also true of your children; they will succeed, not endure. I refrain from saying for which children, lest what greed gathered, luxury may waste. One person loses through excess what you gathered through labor. But I omit this. Perhaps your children will be good, they will not be luxurious; they will keep what you left behind, increase what you kept, they will not waste what you gathered. Your children are equally vain if they do this, if they imitate you in this. I say to them what I said to you, I say to your child for whom you keep these things, I say to him: You hoard and do not know for whom you gather these. Just as you did not know, so he does not know. If vanity remained in him, did truth ever fail in itself concerning him?

A thief by chance amasses wealth.

I omit to say that, perhaps when you are alive, you store up for a thief. One night he comes and finds collected all that was gathered over days and nights. You may be storing up for a robber, perhaps for a plunderer. I do not wish to say more, lest I recall and refresh the pains of sufferers. How many things that empty vanity collected were found ready by hostile cruelty! It is not for me to wish but for all to fear. May God avert this. May His scourges be sufficient. Let us all pray, may God avert this. May He spare us, whom we beseech. But if He asks, why, what do we answer? Therefore you, O man, O every man, you who vainly store up, how do you answer me, examining with you and seeking counsel with you on the common cause? For you used to say and answer: I store up for my son, for my children, for my descendants. I mentioned how much there is to be feared even for those children. But suppose the children live differently than the enemy thinks: let them live as the father wishes. Many in these causes have failed, I said, I mentioned: you shuddered, and you did not correct yourself. For what will you answer me, unless you say this: Perhaps not? And I have spoken thus: Perhaps, I say, for a thief, perhaps for a robber, perhaps for a plunderer. I did not say: " certainly ", but: " perhaps ". Between " perhaps it will happen ", " perhaps it will not happen ": therefore you do not know what will happen, you are vainly disturbed. You see how true the Truth speaks, how vainly vanity is disturbed. You have heard, at last you have become wise, because even when you say: Perhaps for my children; you do not dare to say: I am certain because for my children. Therefore you do not know for whom you are gathering these things. Therefore, as I see it, you have failed in your cause, as I said before; you do not find what to answer me: but neither do I (know) what to answer you.

Counsel must be sought from Christ.

Let us both seek, let us both seek counsel. We have, not the wisdom, but the Wisdom itself. Let us both listen to Christ, a scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles; but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. Why do you prepare fortifications with your wealth? Listen to the Power of God: nothing is stronger. Why do you prepare arguments with your wealth? Listen to the Wisdom of God: nothing is more prudent. Perhaps when I speak, you are scandalized, you will be a Jew, because Christ is a scandal to the Jews. Perhaps when I speak, it will seem foolish to you, you will be a Gentile, because Christ is foolishness to the Gentiles. You are a Christian, you are called; but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. Do not be grieved when I speak; do not be scandalized, do not insult me mockingly as if from my mouth comes folly. Let us listen. For what I am about to say, Christ has said. Do you despise the herald? Fear the judge. What then shall I say? The reader of the Gospel has already somewhat freed me from this burden. I do not read, but I recollect what was read. You sought counsel in your failing cause: look at what the source of right counsel says, the source from which whatever you fill, you do not fear poison: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth destroys nor rust corrodes. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. What more do you expect? The matter is clear. The counsel is plain, but greed remains hidden; rather, it is not hidden, but what is worse, it is revealed. For robbery does not cease, greed does not cease to defraud, malice does not cease to perjure. All for what purpose? To store up treasure. And where to place it? On earth. Rightly indeed from earth to earth. For to the man, to whom I said labor was imparted to us, it was said to the sinner: You are dust, and to dust you shall return. Rightly is the treasure on earth, because the heart is on earth. Where then is what we have with the Lord? Grieve those who understood, correct yourselves if you have grieved. How long to praise and not to act? It is true, nothing is truer. Let what is true be done. We praise God alone, and are not changed, so that in this too we are vainly troubled.

The wealth is to be transferred to heaven.

Therefore: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, whether because you have experienced how what is stored on earth perishes, or have not experienced it but fear to experience it from others. Let those who are not corrected by words be corrected by experiences. We do not rise, we do not proceed, unless so that it may be said with one voice by all: Woe to us, the world is collapsing. If it is collapsing, why do you not depart? If an architect were to tell you that your house was going to collapse, would you not move out before you grumbled? The builder of the world tells you the world is going to collapse. There is no one to contradict. Hear the voice of the preacher, hear the counsel of the admonisher. The voice of the preacher is: Heaven and earth will pass away. The voice of the admonisher is: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Therefore, if you believe the preacher, if you do not despise the admonisher, let it be done as he says. For he who gave such counsel did not want to take away what you have, but rather warned you so that you may not lose it. Why is it not heard so that there is a migration to heaven? For the migration will not be to that heaven of which it is said: Heaven and earth will pass away. Otherwise, who would hear the counsel of one advising from ruin to ruin? There are heavens of heavens, just as the holy of holies, just as the ages of ages. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. The heavens declare the glory of God. Perhaps when you give to the righteous, you give to heaven. But if you give to the unrighteous — because if your enemy is hungry, you give him food — you do not err even then: for indeed you obey Him who made heaven and earth. Therefore, eagerly migrate. Do you have many possessions which you have accumulated? All the more, migrate. I do not want sanctity to lose what vanity has gathered. Migrate. You have that by which the poor of Christ may be enriched. The calamity of the world has made many porters for you. We have spoken and you have heard, rather, He has spoken and we have listened together. May He provide the help to do what He has counseled to correct. Turned towards the Lord. Amen.